ipl-logo

Jennifer Senior's Article Some Dark Thoughts On Happiness

1476 Words6 Pages

“Anyone who could maintain a state of happiness, given the state of the world, is living in a delusion (Phillips 430).” This statement from Some Dark Thoughts on Happiness addresses multiple issues regarding happiness, society, as well as international awareness. The article also touches on the relation of happiness to optimism and pessimism. The following paragraphs will build an argument against the the above statement in Jennifer Senior’s article. Arguments such as what delusion is, how where a person lives plays an affect on happiness, and what percent genetics play in happiness and that people have the option to choose to be happy. Delusion is a false idea or a belief that is caused by a mental illness (Merriam-Webster). The author’s statement implies happiness is only attained by those suffering from a delusional disorder. Genetics not only play a large role in the inheritance of delusional disorders, but as well as in the inheritance of happiness. “Literature based on twin studies seems to suggest that roughly 50 percent of our affect is determined by genetics” (Senior 428). This means that an individual has a control over the remaining 50 percent of the happiness they experience. Where a person …show more content…

This could be for a variety of reasons. First, most younger individuals have little influence in their own lives. Take children, they have little if any control in their situation. Their guardians dictate where a child’s life points for the first 18 years of their life. After those 18 years many adults have a tough time figuring out who they really are and what things make them happy without other people telling them what does. While older individuals can be considered more independent, and are capable of pursuing areas of happiness throughout their

Show More
Related

In Pursuit Of Unhappiness Summary

239 Words | 1 Pages

A professor of history at Florida State , Darrin M. McMahon, in his New York Times article, “In Pursuit of Unhappiness”, (11-29-2005) he persuades that happiness is a relentless desire to achieve if you find it on your own. the article written by McMahon he quotes that ”Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness..”. He uses evidence to support his claim by using philosophers John Stuart mill and Carlyle quotes to prove that they all have similar views on how to achieve being happy and be cheerful. It's better to do something that makes you carefree rather than waiting for happiness to come “knocking at your door” as if you gain contentment as pure luck. Sometimes it is better to be bliss

Read More

Mark Kingwell In Pursuit Of Happiness

160 Words | 1 Pages

In his article "In Pursuit of Happiness: Better Living from Plato to Prozac," Mark Kingwell describes how there has been many debates on the meaning of happiness for many years yet still a singular, justifiable definition eludes society. The pursuit to define and understand happiness has invited several debates, questions, arguments, and suggestions alike. In 1996, a hand full of genetic and behavioral studies suggest evidence that one’s achievable degree of happiness is genetically decided, with evidences showing that no achievement will change your happiness, you are either happy or you’re not. Some studies demonstrated a correlation between dopamine levels in the brain and expressions of personal satisfaction, while others indicated that

Read More

Summary Of Everybody Have Fun By Elizabeth Korbert

324 Words | 2 Pages

However, the winning group did not view themselves happier compared the devastating victims group. The results were alarming because the concept of happiness was not viewed as materialistic belongs but, a range of actives that makes people be happy. The

Read More

A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Happiness Project By Gretchen Rubin

1014 Words | 5 Pages

Synthesis Essay In the Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin mentions if money can buy happiness and she discusses how it can bring you happiness. One example that she claims money made her happy is when she had back pain from picking up her daughter the wrong way when her daughter was in the crib. After a month of suffering, she finally went to go see a physical therapist that made it all go away in just two sessions. (16).

Read More

Cliff Oxford's High Performance Happy

605 Words | 3 Pages

Arguably, the happier an individual is, the better the quality of their life, and the better off they are. But despite this, there are people who will even argue that lower levels of happiness are the best because you maintain the ability to progress in life and your motivation is still present. Although many people will only see two sides to this argument, there is a totally different view that provides the optimal quality of life and the most beneficial outcome in the big picture; and that is moderate happiness. Cliff Oxford’s essay “High Performance Happy” evaluates the effect that an individual’s happiness has on their beneficiality to society and how you should always strive to be the happiest you can be. Oxford’s main point is that

Read More

Montag's Wife As A Foil In Fahrenheit 451

2516 Words | 11 Pages

Happiness plays an important and necessary role in the lives of people around the world. In America, happiness has been engrained in our national consciousness since Thomas Jefferson penned these famous words in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson). Since then, Americans have been engaged in that act: pursuing happiness. The problem however, as Ray Bradbury demonstrates in his novel Fahrenheit 451, is that those things which make us happy initially may eventually lead to our downfall. By examining Guy Montag, the protagonist

Read More

Examples Of Colonialism In Green Grass Running Water

850 Words | 4 Pages

Green Grass Running Water Essay Green Grass Running Water is a novel that displays a different style of narrative that gives the reader a similar feeling to storytelling. Green Grass Running Water closely reflects the history of the colonialism on Turtle Island and directly shows the racial and political ideology that permits colonialism on Turtle Island. Colonizers came to Turtle Island in order to improve their process of colonization. They treat the Indigenous people cruelly then use people and symbolic items to justify their act of mistreatment; this unfair conduct has been maintained throughout history and the Indigenous people have had most of their culture suppressed as a result of colonial society coming to Turtle Island.

Read More

12 Years A Slave Dbq Essay

833 Words | 4 Pages

One’s view toward happiness is not always limited to one point-of-view for the rest of their life. Gretchen Reynolds’ article In the New York Times Magazine does support the idea that people personalities are shaped by inborn qualities, however does not bring into account the individual decisions people may have later in

Read More

Mark Kingwell In Pursuit Of Happiness Analysis

573 Words | 3 Pages

This discovery explains that “nothing in your own life plans or aspirations and accomplishments will alter a built in, hardwired capacity for contentment,” (Kingwell). Genetics determines a person’s ability to obtain certain levels of happiness despite their search for happiness. Although genetics are a limiting factor towards one’s contentment, even the geneticists do not have a definition of happiness. In the conclusion, Kingwell asserts that philosophical thinkers have some truth in their thinking that questioning the definition will lead to unhappiness and he also believes that the geneticists are only looking at the facts instead of introspectively “raising the deeper question of what they, or we, mean by happiness,” (Kingwell).

Read More

Social Stability In Brave New World

739 Words | 3 Pages

Ultimately, how could they ever know true happiness when they aren’t exposed to the opposite? Citizens must be happy in order for society to be stable, but happiness cannot be achieved without

Read More

Analysis Of Mark Kingwell's In Pursuit Of Happiness

753 Words | 4 Pages

In this article, Kingwell first relates happiness as a dubious concept and paradox that can hardly be defined in a single sentence. He continues to discuss unhappiness as a result of the insatiable pursuit of happiness. And finally, Kingwell demonstrates how scientists try to reduce happiness to a genetic factor. The science assumption makes happiness a biological pattern that can

Read More

Can Money Buy Happiness Rhetorical Analysis

680 Words | 3 Pages

People miss the fact that happiness comes from within. In an attempt to find joy – we must also be cautious about over excessive desire to acquire material objects and wealth. There is a delicate balance that must be reached between the pursuit of happiness, satisfaction, and contentment. While there are many conditions that fulfill ones emotional wellbeing, happiness and how we acquired it, depends upon the

Read More

Criminalizing Prostitution Essay

897 Words | 4 Pages

The criminalization of Prostitution has not decreased or stopped its prevalence in the U.S; in fact, all it has done is added more risk factors to the profession. Humans have exchanged money and goods for sex, for thousands of years. In fact, prostitution is one of the worlds oldest professions. Prostitution is even depicted in texts as early as the bible. Exchanging money for sex was never frowned upon until recently, when in the early 20th century, U.S Health Officials blamed them for transmitting diseases.

Read More

Personal Essay: The Definition Of True Happiness

1224 Words | 5 Pages

A collection of philosophical, religious, psychological and biological approaches had attempted to define happiness and analyze its connections. Researchers have found that about 50% of people happiness depends on our genes, based on studies of identical twins, whose happiness was 50% correlated even when growing up in different houses. About 10% to 15% is a result of various measurable life circumstances variables, such as socioeconomic status, marital status, health, income, and others. The remaining 40% is a combination of intentional factors and the results of actions that individuals deliberately engage in to become happier. Studies have also found that most of us are born with a fixed “set point” of happiness that we fall in throughout our lives.

Read More

Happiness Is A Choice Essay: Happiness Is A Choice

1037 Words | 5 Pages

This happiness “set-point” can come to a point of equilibrium and be reset. Factors like heredity and the environment correlate to how a person feels and how he gets to moderate his mood swings. Yet, 40 percent of a person's happiness is something that he can control. Thus, it is safe to say that happiness is a choice. It just depends on the person to decide if he wants it or not.

Read More

More about Jennifer Senior's Article Some Dark Thoughts On Happiness

Related Topics

Open Document